The Layers of Open Science

Publish with Polish—The Layers of Open Science

More than a buzzword, open science removes barriers and increases equity.

Open science. Open data. Open methods. By now, most researchers have heard these terms. Federal agencies and funding agencies such as the Office of Science and Technology Policy and National Institutes of Health are implementing related policies. The requirements for data management and sharing plans in new grants are already in effect. But what does this mean for researchers and authors?

Open science may sound like a buzzword, but it supports the foundations of scientific discovery and dissemination. The Center for Open Science, founded in 2013, encourages open research practices to “increase openness, integrity and reproducibility of research.” Rendering science more open removes barriers and increases equity among the world’s research community. Open access to content fits under this umbrella. By keeping science open, discoveries are evaluated and corrected as needed, fostering the continued evolution of knowledge.

OPEN DATA

Open data resides a layer below open science. It’s one thing to see the results of experiments, but it’s another to be able to access and scrutinize the raw data from those studies. The FAIR Guiding Principles were first published in 2016, providing best practices for sharing scientific data. Specifically, FAIR requires that data are findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. For this reason, APS journals support supplemental data repositories that follow the FAIR guidelines. Approved generalist—or not field-specific—data repositories allowed by APS journals include Figshare, GitHub and Zenodo, among others.

OPEN METHODS

Diving yet another layer deeper, we find open methods. To some researchers, open methods is a newer concept. Journal methods are known to be fraught with missing details and nuance that hinder reproducibility. But an initiative to improve methodological clarity in life sciences publications aims to change this.

Promoting Reusable and Open Methods and Protocols (PRO-MaP) offers recommendations for increasing and improving the reporting of detailed, reusable and open methods and reusable step-by-step protocols. The draft recommendations are directed at specific stakeholders: researchers, research institutions, publishers and funders. In this way, the guidelines endeavor to enact change by targeting those involved in the creation and utilization of methods.

As a publisher, APS supports the inclusion of links to step-by-step protocol repositories, such as Protocols.io. In 2023, the APS journals also expanded article types to Methods and Resources to encourage the publication of more methodology content.

The international community is working hard to promote open science education. Most recently, the inaugural international Love Methods Week was held January 29–February 2 and featured workshops, webinars and activities designed to help researchers share open, reusable methods to help others use data responsibly. This was followed by Love Data Week, February 12–16, which highlighted the importance of data equity and inclusion.

APS journals want to support authors in reaching their open science objectives and requirements. For more information, email publications@phsyiology.org.

This article was originally published in the March 2024 issue of The Physiologist Magazine. Copyright © 2024 by the American Physiological Society.